Nepal is one of the poorest countries in the world, and the health care available to many Nepalis is clearly inadequate. One of the main reasons for this is the unwillingness of health care personnel, particularly doctors, to serve in Nepal’s remote and rural areas. The country’s current system of medical education has failed to address this.

The Patan Academy of Health Sciences (PAHS) is dedicated to improving the health status of the people of Nepal by producing doctors who are willing and able to provide health care to disadvantaged Nepalis living in remote or rural areas. The academy initially consists of a School of Medicine, which began to teach prospective doctors in 2010. In future, PAHS is expected to open a School of Public Health, a School of Nursing, a School of Allied Health Sciences to train other health care professionals.

A goal of PAHS is that its graduates will not only provide severely needed medical care in rural Nepal, but will also eventually become leaders in health care policy, dedicated to improving the health of the remote and destitute populations in Nepal. Furthermore, PAHS will serve as a model of innovative medical education in a developing country, which can be replicated elsewhere.

PAHS is located in the city of Patan, Nepal, which is adjacent to the capital city of Kathmandu. PAHS is based at Patan Hospital, which is the major teaching hospital for the academy.